


Ask Amorina

by Elly_dk



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Advice, Coming Out, Drarry, Epistolary, Infidelity, Letters, M/M, Pining, Pseudonyms, Relationship Advice, Secret Identity, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-03-29 01:25:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 11,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13916400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elly_dk/pseuds/Elly_dk
Summary: Draco is an advice columnist for Witch Weekly called AmorinaHarry is in desperate need of some advice.This fic is entirely comprised of letters - prologue and epilogue excluded





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> I couldn't keep away - had this plot bunny jumping on my keyboard, so I had to stroke it.  
> I suspect you'll get updates on this once a week, but knowing me, it might be more often than that.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.  
> Love Elly

It was not what Draco had envisioned for himself at all, but the job at Witch Weekly paid well and kept him from taking more degrading jobs – like Theo, who was working as a personal assistant or Pansy, who was shopping for the elderly. People actually listened to his advice, used it. He got fan mail, for Merlin’s sake. Yes, he was perfectly aware of the fact that his fan mail only came because the public thought he was a middle-aged woman with a heart of gold, named Amorina, but he could not very well have called the column ”Ask a Death Eater – They Give Splendid Advice on all Matters of Love, Life and Death”.

The name Amorina was something the editor, Katinka Languis, came up with, but the backstory was all Draco. She tried to talk him into posing as a young sophisticated woman, but Draco knew that people, especially readers of Witch Weekly, need a matriarch with experience and a long healthy relationship behind her. Eventually Draco won that argument, as it should be. 

Each week Amorina received dozens of letters from eager readers, who wanted to get advice on their love life. If he was lucky, he found people willing to write more than once, updating Amorina on their progress and the effectiveness of the advice he had had given. It truly was not a bad job at all. Not too shabby for Draco Malfoy and a lot better than Blaise, who was renting himself out – not for sex, he kept insisting, but still.


	2. Chapter 2

Dear Amorina

It’s with some embarrassment that I find myself writing this letter to you, but I am not sure who else to talk to. Can I call this talking? I am not even sure. You might not even choose this letter, I realise that much, but I really hope you do. My wife is already teasing me mercilessly for reading your column every week so I might as well join in. The part where I can stay anonymous is also very comforting.

I prattle on because, well, I don’t know how to ask – Not knowing how to ask something when writing to an advice column called “Ask Amorina” – that’s pathetic. 

Ok, here goes:

I have been married for six years, been with my wife for even longer, but I find myself wondering. 

I wonder if I did the right thing, marrying young.   
I wonder if she is the right one for me.  
I wonder why she is not enough.  
I wonder how she can be everything good and right, but not be right for me.

During this year, I have been finding myself looking at other people in a way I never did before. My thoughts start going down all these “What-if” roads. Or more accurately down “What Would Happen If” roads. 

I can’t shake the feeling that I am stuck, that I stay where I am because I have always been headed this way and I never thought to question it.

My main concern here is this – how do I know if something is just a temporary crises?

Wow – that was vague. I apologise. I am not sure it makes any sense at all.

I hope you’ll be able to give some sort of advice on how to figure this stuff out. 

From  
Orion


	3. Chapter 3

Dear Orion

Of course you can call this talking. Let us have a conversation. I am curious about your situation. As you say, your question is a bit vague. What are some of the scenarios that you have been toying with? Do you wish to travel? Do you dream of bachelor life? Do you seek an unexpected life?

I find myself wondering what your dreams are?

Maybe we could start our conversations there?

As for advice at this moment, I would implore you to make a list – in your head, on paper or in a response to me. Try to articulate what it is, that you seek. Is your wife not able to give you what you dream of or have you perhaps not included her in the dilemma? 

I suspect that you at this point do not wish to separate from your wife? If that is in fact the case, try to involve her in the process. Does she dream of some of the things that you do? Could you change the situation together?

You say you married young, that is not necessarily a bad thing, but I often find that marrying young means that you have to find a way to grow up together and not grow apart. 

I hope to hear from you again.

Kind regards  
Amorina


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again

Thank you for your answer last week, it was very helpful. I am kind of impressed with how much you deduced from very little information. There’s a reason people write to you I guess. I have been thinking like crazy since I read your reply. I haven’t actually talked to my wife about any of this. I don’t know how to broach the subject. It’s totally unfair. I know that it is unfair. I just can’t seem to shake the feeling, that if I let the niffler out of the bag, it will cause so much havoc that it’ll be almost impossible to repair the damage.

You ask about my dreams for a different life – what is the thing that I seek. I have thought about a lot of things over the past years. Different things, really. The only common thread is that I am with someone other than my wife. Wow. That sounds awful in writing. I am not some kind of asshole who sleeps around. I am really not. I guess I never really had a relationship with someone before my wife and sometimes I just, damn it, I wonder if this is how I am supposed to feel. Is the relationship we have similar to what other people have?

I read those books, the ones with shiny guys named Archibald on the cover. One of my friends called it house-wife-porn once. That’s not the point. The point is that I read about the romance in there and I want that. I want to feel like I can’t breathe if I am not with that person. I want to feel like my heart is dropping to the pit of my stomach. I want to get all flustered and fluttery. I want to get so mad that I shake with anger. I want cry for so long that my voice gets hoarse and my tears dry out.

How can I involve my wife in that?

How can I tell her, that she has never been any of that for me, when I know that she felt that way about me, at least at one point?

You are right in assuming that I don’t want a divorce. I don’t want to lose my family. Her family is the only place I have ever felt like I belonged, well, except for Hogwarts, I guess.

You write about growing up together or growing apart – it’s weird, I really feel like we did grow up together, my feelings for her haven’t changed at all. She’s my best friend and I really do love her.

Hoping to hear from you again.  
Orion


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I think I said something about this fic being a weekly thing - that's not gonna happen. I can't help it, I just go around thinking about the next letter and I have to share with you guys. So daily updates it is! 
> 
> Hugs and kisses all around!  
> Love  
> Elly

Dear Orion

Thank you for a heartfelt and honest response, I enjoy following up on the advice I have given and appreciate you and others, who decide to keep corresponding and sharing their woes with the readers of Witch Weekly and myself. 

Let us dive right in and I will start by saying that it sounds like you have a wonderful companion through life in your wife.

Every relationship is different, comparing your own with those around you or those in novels are not always productive. I understand the urge, but remember that your own relationship probably seems vastly different from the outside, than it does from the inside. As for the shiny Archibalds of modern literature, I am sure that the prowess of those characters are highly exaggerated. 

That being said, what strikes me the most about your letter is that you seem unsatisfied. Had you been content with a partner, that was more a friend than a lover, no other relationships would be of import. 

Are you attracted to your wife?

Could you find contentment even without the sweeping romance, that you speak of?

Have you ever felt any of the emotions that you wish to experience?

I wondered about one last thing; when you speak about divorce, you speak of family, you speak of needing a place to belong, but you do not speak of needing your wife specifically or rather the companionship that you two share. Is your need to stay with you wife more a need to not disrupt the larger family dynamic?

I hope to hear from you again, as does many of our readers.

Kind regards  
Amorina


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woops - one more today :)

Hi Amorina (again, again)

I honestly find it kind of hard to believe that people are entertained by my troubles. I mean, I am just me, just one guy trying to figure stuff out. I keep being surprised that you answer my letters at all, maybe I’ll get used to it at some point? 

Well, back to business, so to speak.

I find it hard to answer all of your questions – not because I don’t want to, I just don’t think I actually know myself all that well. It’s awful to learn that about myself to be honest. It’s hard to look at yourself, think about yourself, and discover that you haven’t done that before, you know?

I guess I am not that attracted to my wife if I am aiming for honesty here. I don’t find her hideous or ugly or any like that, it’s just... Damn it. I don’t know. I can see that she is pretty, that she is beautiful from an objective standpoint. She fulfils all the normal criteria for being attractive, I guess. I just don’t really get that sort of rush through my body when I see her. 

As for contentment – is it enough? I guess it’s not anymore. I think that’s what I had up until about a year ago. I was content. I was settled. I was ok.

For a long time just being ok, and not afraid or confused or sad or anything like that, was almost bliss. It was so far from what I had during the war that I forgot to look closer. I didn’t even think about questioning the state of things at all. I was finally ok. I finally meant it when I said I was fine.

Fine is just not enough anymore.

You ask if I have ever felt any of the emotions that I spoke off. Well, not really, no. I can’t remember a time when I just forgot myself and was swept away by my emotions. Not since school really. Damn it, I could get all hot headed about almost anything back then. To be fair that wasn’t really about romantic stuff. 

My main concern is probably the fallout if I ever did divorce my wife, but it isn’t only about extended family. I love my wife so, so much. I can’t imagine not being able to talk to her, laugh with her and share my life with her. I want to always have her in my life, even if I end up not being able to be with her romantically anymore.

She is awesome.

I sound really selfish, don’t I? 

I feel like such a wanker; I don’t want her, but I don’t want to lose her. What an idiot. 

What do you think I should do?

Other than talk to my wife, I can’t do that – well I could, but that would be the beginning of the end, I am sure, so I am not ready for that, maybe I’ll never be ready for that.

Thanks for investing this much time in me and if any of those readers have some awesome advice, bring it on – I am desperate here.

Orion


	7. Chapter 7

Dear Orion

I do not think you understand the gift it is that you open up this way. We all crave understanding and equals who share our concerns and heartaches. I find myself becoming invested in your troubles and wanting you to find a solution and I can tell you, by the amount of post I have gotten these past weeks about your situation, that I am not the only one. 

The first point of your recent letter that I would like to address is your talk of your time at school. Back then you could get emotional, some things even made your blood boil – but you say that it was not romantically? What kind of situations or people grabbed your attention then? 

I am aware that teenage hormones can run away with us at that age, but remember that even though the feelings might be exaggerated or misdirected it does not make them any less valid. 

Is it possible for you to speak to your wife about some of this, even if you are not ready to let the lethifold out of the cave? 

Here is my advice for the week – or assignment if you will. Try to initiate a conversation with your wife about your relationship. Ask her how she feels things a progressing between the two of you. Ask her if she is happy with the status quo. Ask her what dreams she has for her life or even for your life together.

To sign off here, I will firmly tell you that you are by no measure an idiot. It seems to me that you are a very good man in an extremely difficult situation. 

Kind regards  
Amorina


	8. Chapter 8

Dear Amorina  
Is that your real name? Seems almost too fitting.

I write with a weird request this time. I really need someone to talk to and I want to talk to you – you have been a great help so far, but I can’t put anymore of my shit in the magazine. Would you be willing to answer me anyway?

Maybe we could make some sort of deal - that I’ll write a final letter, letting everyone know how it all turned out… I don’t know. 

This is an international portkey away from being ok, I know that, I just don’t know who else to talk to.

I could pay you – like a counsellor or a therapist or whatever.

Just tell me to shut up or something, if this is not ok.

Desperately  
Orion


	9. Chapter 9

Dear Orion

I admit that your request is somewhat unorthodox. However, I do not wish to end our conversation before you have the closure you need. 

I need to disclose a couple of things as to not feel like you are coming to me under false pretences. My name is in fact not Amorina – that would have been quite the coincidence for an individual writing for an advice column – but also somewhat of a scoop. I value my privacy and feel like I have a better platform to help the readers of Witch Weekly when donning this mask. 

To put it bluntly – Amorina is a persona created for the purpose of conveying trustworthiness and comfort – I strive to live up to the name and the persona, though the part of me that is Amorina, is not all of me.

A final letter to the magazine would be appreciated, though not required. If you have followed my column for a while, you know that most tales do not get an ending. My part in the tales of love and life that people invite me into, is almost always over before the story itself has played itself out. It is sometimes quite frustrating as I invest much time and energy in giving the best advice I possibly can. 

This is why I would like to keep writing you, that and the frustrating fact, that your need to stay anonymous in the eyes of everyone is hindering our conversation.

I have enclosed a non-disclosure agreement with this letter. I feel like I can trust you and I know that you can put your trust in me, but for the sake of both of us and because we are both wearing names that is not ours, I would like to agree to not disclose any of the information we write in these private letters. 

As you see I have already signed my magical signature – I hope that you will do the same. You can use your pseudonym if you wish or mark it with an x, the magic will not care, as long as you are the one waving the wand.

If any of this is too much for you, I completely understand and I wish you all the best.

 

Awaiting your response  
Am


	10. Chapter 10

Dear Am

I somehow got this image of a Hagrid-like figure dressing up as an old lady extremely fond of embroidery and pictures of fluffy owls. 

I am assuming you are familiar with Hagrid, as far as I know, he has been at Hogwarts for more than fifty years. 

I am really happy you still want to talk to me. I just found myself backed into a corner. If I want your advice, which I do, I have to be honest about some things that I am not ready for everyone in the wizarding world to know about. It also wouldn’t be fair to my wife to put our personal business on display without talking to her about it.

One of my friends, or even my wife, would have eventually figured out that I wrote those letters to you and I want to tell or not tell people about all of this in my own time.

The real problem I have to talk to you about – and don’t worry, the non-disclosure should be in your hands by now – is that I did something really stupid. I know you said I wasn’t an idiot, but lets agree to disagree on that.

Do you remember how you wrote to me about my school days? How some feelings can be misplaced at that age?

It’s like those words seared themselves into my mind as soon as I read them. Something seemed so right about that statement.

I had this rivalry at Hogwarts with a complete asshole, he was just the complete opposite of me and he got under my skin all the time. I mean not just taunts and stuff like that, but I obsessed about him for months at one point. I hated him, I really fucking hated him, but I hated him with passion, you know?

(How old are you? Can I cuss? I feel like I shouldn’t)

Ok, so here’s the thing… the thing is… Damn it, I can’t even write it. I’ll just tell you what happened.

I read that answer of yours and I thought about my school days and I, well, I went out alone and got really drunk. Really, really drunk. At a muggle pub. It’s a pub I’ve been walking past a couple of times, there are always a lot of men, a lot of men in all shapes and sizes, in colourful clothes, in suits and ties. There are never any women or maybe there are some and I just haven’t noticed.

I had a drink and then I had fifty more and I ended up kissing one of the more colourful guys outside the pub.

And then I ran away.

I feel like such an asshole. I cheated. I didn’t do much, but I cheated. I never thought I would do that. I just, well, when I read those things you wrote I figured it out. I realised that I might have hated that douchebag from Hogwarts, but I might have found him kind of hot as well. 

So that’s what I wanted to say and maybe you could help me out here? Am I way off? Is it insane to compare feelings of intense loathing and passionate hatred with sexual feelings? Could I actually have walked around for this long and not noticed that I find men attractive or am I just finding some excuse to leave my wife?

Thank you for writing still – you never said if you wanted compensation? 

Totally screwed  
Orion


	11. Chapter 11

Hi Orion

Ok firstly, calm down.

Secondly, I am not that old and I am not fond of embroidery as such – my mother did try to teach me one horrible summer though. I shudder at the memory; I have neither the finesse nor the inclination, but I sometimes feel like I still have sore thumbs from pricking myself and soiling the cloth in blood. 

Thirdly, fluffy owls are adorable, anyone who says differently are insane. I do tend to opt for a more regal owl myself - old habits and all that.

On to the more pressing concerns you have. I think I will need additional information, before I can adequately advice you on how to proceed. On that note; maybe we could cease calling this advice? If our correspondence is going off the pages of Witch Weekly and into my personal life, I would rather think of this as a mutual thing. Perhaps you could help me with a problem as well?

My first question is this – did you enjoy the kiss? Do you even remember? How did your body respond? Was it different from how you have felt with you wife?

I would like to ask you why you have been looking at the pub when you went by before? Why did you go into that pub specifically? Why did you choose a muggle place?

Lastly I want to ask you this; have you thought about that rival you had at Hogwarts in the years when you have not been in contact? What was it about him, or the situations involving him, that made your react so fiercely to him? Could you give an example?

Now, for the purpose of equality in our letters I would rather not be paid in any way. I am not a therapist, even the fine print at the bottom of my page in Witch Weekly states as much. I am not a professional. I just tend to understand people.

Hope you are doing well  
Am


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys  
> A longer chapter for you today.  
> I guess you could say that we are getting into it now - I hope you haven't found the build-up too long winded.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!!

Hi Am

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

You are right, fluffy owls are adorable, but do you have pictures of them everywhere? Because that just screams old lady – or young child. Do you have a sweater with a fluffy owl on it?

I’m good with seeing this as a mutual thing, I guess I already kind of do. In your last letter, I almost felt like we’d known each other for years – silly, I know, I mean I don’t even know your real name. Would you tell me a bit about yourself, even if it’s just small random stuff. I could ask you a couple of questions maybe?

Ok – House at Hogwarts? Siblings? Quidditch – hate it/love it/don’t care/team? Job – anything other than Witch Weekly/anything you’d love to do?

And of course I would love to help you out with anything. I’ll warn you though, I’ve been told I give very bad advice and make rash decisions, so take my seven sickles into account at your own discretion.

Now back to my shitty life. Firstly, I have to tell you about the conversation I had with my wife and I’ll try to answer some of your question after.

We were sitting in our living room – it’s an open space, opens up into the kitchen and she had this weird look on her face, like she wanted to tell me something, but every time she tried, she stopped herself, you know?

She went out to the kitchen to make some tea and she was weirdly slow about everything. I am actually kind of proud of myself and the fact that I noticed her behaving oddly. She came back towards me with her tea in hand and just stopped and looked at me at the threshold between the kitchen and the living room.

Something you should know about my wife – she is a firecracker. She yells and screams and stomps her feet and doesn’t take shit from anyone, so this calm was very eerie.

There was an issue of Witch Weekly lying on our coffee table – the one with the picture of the new line-up for the national Quidditch team. It was also the one where I wrote my last public letter to you.

She kept glancing at it.

And then she started crying. Not ugly crying, like those kids you see kicking and screaming outside of joke shops and ice-cream parlours in Diagon Alley. Just silent tears rolling down her face. 

“I’m sorry” I said.

“I know” she answered.

I guess that was it. She drank her tea and started to pack her things, but I couldn’t let her move out of her house on top of everything, so I moved. I am at my Godfather’s old place now. It’s fucking depressing. The house and the situation. I feel like such a complete shit. I didn’t tell her about the guy from the pub. He had green streaks in his hair and a tattoo of some fish in bright colours on his arm. I couldn’t tell her about him. It’s not about him at all.

But you were right about something, or you asked the right questions about something, I guess. I did feel something I haven’t felt in a long time. I felt passionate. I felt like my body was on fire, even though I found the green stripes in his blond hair annoying and he was too... easy? Maybe? That’s not even the point. I am not going to see that guy again. The point is that I want to see some guy. 

I have been looking.

I have been curious.

I have even been using an apparition point that is farther away from my house, just to walk past the pub.

As for the rival from Hogwarts. I don’t know. I guess he was hot in an obnoxious sort of way. He was the only one who ever got under my skin the way he did. I don’t know. I’ll try to think of a good example of our confrontations for my next letter. I guess it’ll have to be from the later years at Hogwarts. I am pretty sure there was no lingering feelings at the beginning.

I wonder what he is up to now.

Hoping you are well, or at least better than me.  
Orion.


	13. Chapter 13

Hi Orion

Ok, where to begin. That was quite the letter.

I am truly sorry about your marriage. Have you talked to your wife? I think you should find a way to sit down and speak to her about all of this. It seems to me that she is an extremely important person in your life and if she cares as much for you, as you have led me to believe, I sincerely believe that she will want to part amicably. 

And you owe her an explanation. 

I, on the other hand, owe you an explanation or at least a clarification. 

You have a lot of questions for me and I will answer all of them and then some and then I will get back to your troubles, I promise. I would just feel better sharing some information about myself, as you have been more than forthcoming with yours. 

I was in Slytherin.

I am an only child.

I love Quidditch and especially the Wimborne Wasps.

I would love to work for the Department of Mysteries.

I am also a man. Just thought you should know that as the name Amorina leads most people to believe that there is a woman behind the pseudonym.

Would you tell me more about yourself? Same questions and one more – best drunk-story? (I will tell you mine if you tell me yours.)

I have been wondering something by my third reading of your letter; has anyone caught your eye? You say that you do not wish to see the green-haired fish-tattooed fellow from the pub again, but do you think about someone specific when you imagine yourself with another man?

Do you stay in your depressing new house (flat?) and sulk about your situation, or do you go out? Have you been to the pub again? Have you spoken to your friends about the situation?

Our letters to each other these past weeks have made me think about my own situation, and here is where I need your advice. I am currently single, have been for quite some time actually. I had my own “omg-I-am-gay”- moment several years ago. I had a humongous crush on my nemesis at school. 

Yes, nemesis – I stand by that. Rivals are nothing compared to how I felt about this guy. 

I did not realise that my feeling were indeed misplaced attraction until I had utterly ruined my chances of anything ever happening. I guess that is why I feel so strongly about helping you through this. I know how it feels to be confused about you sexuality, but I do apologise if I have been projecting. 

This nemesis of mine, I saw him recently, I do not think he even noticed me, but I saw him and my heart jumped. He was wearing a ridiculous outfit – he is beautiful, do not get me wrong, but he dresses like a homeless person. His socks does not match. Who does not match their socks, it is atrocious. Still, I cannot stop thinking about him.

Should I try to mend fences? 

How would you find an approach from you rival from back in the day? I know, I know, a rival is no nemesis, but I guess it is as close to it as I can expect. 

I am well – though struggling with an answer to a lady in love with her brother's daughter – I know pureblood inbreeding has been a thing in the past, but I honestly thought we had moved past that by now.

Love  
Am


	14. Chapter 14

Hi Am

You’re a guy? Really? It’s so weird, I had this stupid idea that you were actually a friend of mine, but I am sure now that you are not. One – she is a she. Two – you are not. Three – she kind of scolded me for thinking she had a side occupation that I didn’t know about. But seriously she could give advice in Witch Weekly if she wanted to, she always seem to just know what people's motivations are. Like you said, she knows people too. 

I am kind of glad it wasn’t her, that would have been awkward. I haven’t told anyone about the muggle pub. I haven’t told anyone that I am attracted to men either, so I am kind of glad that you are not one of my closest friends. 

I went to the pub again. I feel kind of shitty about it. I haven’t even talked to my wife about it yet, I did write her a letter, asking her to meet me. I am seeing her tomorrow.

I don’t know what to tell her.

I want to tell her the truth, but the truth is that I don’t know how I feel. 

Or I didn’t. That’s why I went to that pub again. I just had to know before I sat down and talked to her. I had to tell her something real.

The fish-guy wasn’t there again. I guess most people who go out on the weekends are not the ones going out on a Tuesday. I shouldn’t even be out on Tuesdays, but a crises of sexuality calls for bending the rules, so I did.

For the longest time I just sat at the bar watching all the guys making eyes at each other. There was this muscular dude, who kept pressing up against me every time he wanted another drink from the bar. It wasn’t crowded at all, but he just pressed up against me anyway. 

A couple of pints in, I just had enough. He kept touching me with his big hands, pressing his large chest against my back. I was just about ready to yell something when I felt a light touch on my hand and a breath near my ear whispering, “are you ok?” 

You should have seen this guy – his skin was soft and white and almost like snow. You know, fluffy white new snow. I think I might have smelled him. He smelled like frost as well. 

I am sure I said something very stupid, but we talked – or he talked. Unfortunately, he was not very intelligent, but somehow I didn’t care. I just wanted to touch him. So I did. I stroked his hand at the bar, I kissed him hidden between a leatherjacket and a corduroy blazer in the coatroom. 

And then I ran away again.

At least I know now.

Ok. My turn to answer some questions. I guess I just told you one of my more exciting drunk-stories. Unless you are thinking more along the lines of me and my best mate getting pissed at his brother’s wedding and accidentally blowing up the wedding cake? Good times.

I was a Gryffindor.

I am an only child.

I love Quidditch, especially the Harpies.

I am working as an Auror, but I am not sure if that’s something, I’ll do for the rest of my life. I think I’d like to teach as some point.

Oooh a nemesis you say, yeah I’ve had one of those, no attraction there, I assure you. If you find yourself wanting to mend fences, I think you should. I think a new start can be healthy. I don’t know how old you are exactly, but I haven’t been at Hogwarts for give or take eight years and none of the rivalries from back then are that important anymore.

I even tried to figure out what my rival is doing now and I can’t. It’s like he just sits at home and does nothing, but I don’t think that seems very likely. For all his faults he was always very driven and eager to make something of himself. 

I think you should tell the lady in love with her niece to get a fucking grip and stop being creepy. Maybe she just needs a good gay-pub to go to? Give her my number, she can tag along! It is kind of surprising that none of the purebloods I’ve met turned out butt ugly with missing fingers and an additional nose. I mean inbreeding is kind of gross.

Come to think of it, some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen, were purebloods.

Well, this was long. Did I get around to answering everything?

Looking forward to hearing from you.  
Orion


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
> I just wanted to give a heads up. I am going on vacation this Saturday, so I am taking a one-week break at that point. 
> 
> I hope you are still with me on this story, I am enjoying writing it a lot and reading you lovely comments.
> 
> Kisses  
> Elly

Hi Orion

I need to ask one thing before I dive in to this correspondence.

You had both a nemesis and a rival? 

I am intrigued. How do you distinguish between the two? As someone proclaiming to have had a nemesis, I might re-evaluate my categorisation if I am properly educated.

No need to fear, I feel quite certain that I am not one of your best friends disguised as an advice columnist.

In fact, I do not go out much. I have a small office at the magazine, but to keep up appearances it is all decorated in floral prints, chunky furniture and velvet fabrics. The editor of Witch Weekly even has an ongoing batch of Polyjuice potion to turn me into her mother in law. In addition, I feel like I am drowning in burgundy – and not the liquid kind from vineyards in France. As such, I keep to myself and do most of my writing from my own home. 

Reading my last paragraph back, I realise that I sound like a hermit. I swear I am not. 

I will try to mend fences with my nemesis. I think you are right about school grudges needing to be squashed. If nothing else comes of it, I will at least feel on my way towards putting past deeds behind me, and look forward. I do not actually know that much about him anymore. I only know what I have heard from my very gossip prone best friends, and I am quite sure that is not reliable information. 

You blew up you best friend’s brother’s wedding cake? Where was the bride standing? Where did you hide afterwards? What did you substitute for dessert? 

As I am not a Gryffindor, none of my drunken embarrassing stories, are that rambunctious. 

A couple of years ago I was even more recluse than now and my friends had had enough, they cornered me at my house and poured Polyjuice Potion down my throat. Turned out, they had come across Landon Lynch and nicked a couple of hairs off him while he was distracted. One of my friends has years of experience dangling his beautiful body in front of unsuspecting marks – Landon Lynch did not stand a chance. So I chased down the potion with three shots of whiskey and had a glimpse into the life of a celebrity gay man. I want to say I feel bad, but the guys were throwing themselves at me. 

Have you tried to venture into one of the wizarding establishments that cater to the non-traditional sort? You really should. You think muggles get creative with their hair colour and body art? Wizards go crazy - I once met a guy who had permanently transfigured his ears to tiny lizard heads. That was weird. Three tongues though, but I stray from my story. 

I ended up going home with this really fit dark-skinned wizard who lived close by and had the most talented tongue. In the heat of the moment, I forgot what a tremendously bad idea it is to fall asleep while under the influence of Polyjuice Potion, when you are not alone.

I woke up as he was tipping me out of bed yelling bloody murder and threatening with Aurors. My pants are still in his apartment, unless he burned them in a torture ritual to get back at me.

Wow – that got personal and does not show me in my best light, but I swear, I have only used Polyjuice Potion for professional reasons since then.

Have you talked to your wife yet? Ex-wife?

I hope you have, in return I will promise to try to do something about that nemesis of mine. I need to come up with a solid plan of approach though, I cannot waltz up to him and proclaim myself changed and in need of redemption. I will update you on my progress in the next letter, hopefully I will have initiated some kind of contact by then.

I am oddly nervous about approaching him, is that weird?  
Am


	16. Chapter 16

Hi Am

Ok, let me educate you on the difference between a nemesis and a rival, It’ll be my pleasure.

A nemesis is someone you want to, literally, kill. 

A rival is someone you only kind of want to strangle. Maybe slap around a bit.

A nemesis is not someone you know personally, they just make your life miserable from afar.

A rival is someone who makes your day to day life a living hell, but you kind of know too much about them to completely hate them.

A nemesis is someone you have nothing but hate for.

A rival is someone that you actually respect at bit and maybe you sympathise with their situation sometimes. You might even admire some qualities about them, but it is overshadowed by the pure obnoxiousness of the other qualities.

A nemesis is always your nemesis. Never changing.

A rival is someone you can learn to endure and maybe get over some shit as you grow older and realise that none of that petty crap mattered anyway.

I hope for your sake, and this nemesis/rival of yours, that he is in fact a rival. Having a nemesis is a damn hassle. 

My ex-wife and I are on ok terms all things considered. I talked to her two days ago. I came clean about everything. She said it made a lot of sense in hindsight. The gay thing I mean. I think she found it easier to cope with, than if I had just fallen out of love or met another woman. I don’t deserve her, I really don’t. 

I cried a lot when I told her. 

I didn’t realise how afraid I’d been that she would never want to speak to me again. 

I watched her hand in mine, I watched the wedding band on her finger, as it peaked through my fingers laced in hers. I wanted so bad to take it all back. I wanted so bad to keep her. I can’t though. I know I can’t. I just have a hard time believing I will ever find someone, who will make it seem like it was worth it, you know?

Thank you for telling me your drunken story. It’s was way better than mine. The bride had cake in her hair , on her dress and even sat in some. My friends mother meade a new cake, it wasn’t quite as beautiful, but very delicious. We hid in his father’s shed. My best friend accidentally sat on a muggle thing called a nail gun and were shot in the ass with a nail. He screamed so loudly that everyone found us at once. 

Not my proudest moment, but at least I wasn’t the one carted off to St. Mungo’s to get a nail removed from my left arse-cheek. Great wedding.

I’ll sign off here, I hope to hear about your attempt at approaching the rival (not nemesis, right?) soon.

Looking forward to your next letter.  
Orion


	17. Chapter 17

Orion

Fuck, I did it. I talked to him.

To be perfectly honest I watched him like a deranged stalker for longer than I feel comfortable admitting to and then I tried to casually bump into him. I do not think I was all that smooth, but he did not seem to hate me as much as I would have expected. He was quite decent actually.

And hot. My rival – yes I concede, he is a rival. My Rival grew up and became unbelievably hot. I am so screwed. 

You say you had a rival yourself, how would you feel about bumping in to him again?

Would it make any sense for him to ask you out to dinner? Just wondering. I found myself wanting to get to know what kind of man my rival turned out to be. I wondered what you would think about such an invitation, I know I would not mind it myself, but it is nice with another perspective.

You never did give me an example of your rivalry, I am dying to hear about it. I wonder if we had similar experiences.

In need of guidance  
Am


	18. Chapter 18

Hey Am

Are you indeed screwed? It sounds like that would be a good thing?

Would you believe that I finally saw my rival this week as well. Go figure, right?

You think your rival is hot, he’s got nothing on my guy – seriously I think I did have a very heavily denied crush on him back at Hogwarts. Now that I know to think of men that way, I recognise my body's response to him. He did always get me riled up.

There was this one time, it wasn’t even a real “thing” you know. It wasn’t our biggest clash and certainly not our most memorable. It was after a potions class. I had once again failed miserably and was attempting a last minute save as the clock ran out, so I hadn’t gathered up my things as the others went off to the next class. Charms, I think. I don’t know why he stayed behind as well, he was always ace at potions, so it can’t have been the same reason as me. He did stay though. As I passed him, he touched me – and here’s the thing; when I think about it now, I say touch, because I am not actually sure that he pushed me, as I claimed at the time.

I think he might have just attempted contact.

I think I might have read him wrong back then.

When I saw him the other day, that not-an-incident incident popped back into my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about the way he looked at me. The way I had jumped away from his touch and sneered at him to stop trying to make me fall over. 

You see, if you were my rival, I would love to sit down and talk without all that pent up angsty teenage crap in the way.

Looking forward to see what you decide to do  
Orion


	19. Chapter 19

Hi Orion

I am frustrated. I had a whole thing planned out. I intended to go up to him, when he got off from work. I would casually enter the Ministry building just as he was leaving – I will not admit how long I waited in the atrium to be able to be casual. I am really racking up the stalker points here. 

The moment I got distracted, by an acquaintance of my father’s, he shows up. It might have seemed like a friendly conversation; the acquaintance, let us call him Joe, is quite charming, but I was only there to get an opportunity to nonchalantly invite my rival out for coffee. I feel like I should also name my rival, as I am not actually thinking of him that way anymore. 

He looked at me from across the atrium the exact moment Joe leaned in and whispered in my ear. I will not divulge what he proposed, but it nearly made me blush and I promptly declined. If I could tell my rival – ok, this is getting ridiculous. I will at least promote him to crush, as that seems more appropriate. The point is; I felt horrible. He looked almost hurt and I would love an opportunity to explain the situation to him.

How should I go about doing that?

Your incident from Hogwarts reminds me of one of my own.

It was back in our final year. I was in a horrible position that year. I will not go into detail, but it was a time in my life where I had to re-evaluate numerous of my previous notions about the world.

One day just before Christmas, I was sitting in the library attempting to do some research, but I could not concentrate. My then rival and current crush came in alone. I do not think he noticed me. He looked so lost and for the first time I wondered about things, that I had never wondered before. What was his life like when we were not hurling insults at each other? Did anyone get to stroke his wild hair and tell him that everything was going to be all right?

Have you tried to contact your rival yet? I think you ought to try it.

Hoping to hear from you soon.  
Am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this might be the last chapter until I get back from holiday. I might be able to get one or two chapters up while I am there, I just wanted you guys to be prepared for a wait. I get back on April 2nd. 
> 
> Thanks for all the wonderful comments and kudos.
> 
> Love  
> Elly


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> Yay!  
> I hope you didn't get bored of this and forget about me ;)  
> I missed you all and these letters - looking forward to getting back to a letter or two a day. 
> 
> Love  
> /Elly

Hey Am

I wanted to answer you quickly this time. This is important stuff.

The guy, Joe, who you were whispering with in the atrium, probably made that rival/crush of yours insecure. I would have been, if that had been me. It’s not like you promised your crush anything, so if Joe had been more than just an inappropriate acquaintance that would have been ok. I don’t think you need to apologise as such, but it might be time for a less subtle approach?

Totally off topic, I wanted to tell you that I spoke to my best friends about the gay thing. Well, I kind of yelled at them. Do you know how long it’s been since I cared enough about anything to yell at anyone – a really, fucking long time. It’s like I’ve woken up again.

My friends almost fell out of their seats when I started yelling. 

I didn’t just burst into their home and start yelling “I’m gay”, which it just occurred to me, it might have sounded like, so let me give you some context. 

I was sitting at their dinner table, watching their two kids argue over who had more peas and if they in fact had the same amount - who could eat them the fastest. My friends kept looking at me, like they wanted to ask me a thousand questions, but you know, you can’t really say ‘why the hell did you leave your wife’ in front of the kids, so the whole affair with the peas became very important for everyone at the table. It was awkward though. It never used to be awkward coming to their house, but I guess leaving your wife of six years, without any indication as to why, does put a damper on things.

When the kids were finally down for the night at about eight, I was hit with a barrage of questions.

“Why haven’t you told us anything?”

“When did you decide to do this?”

“I thought you were thinking about kids?”

“Is she not good enough for you anymore?”

“Do you know she cries all the time?”

“How could you do this?”

“You should have talked to us about it first.”

On and on and on. I got so sick of their crap, they never even asked how I was doing, they didn’t try to understand. All of it was about my wife. Honestly, I do understand why they were upset, I really do. They both had this picture of the four of us growing old together, raising kids together, but that’s not happening and I really don’t think this is about them at all. 

Finally I just stood up and yelled all the answers at them. 

“I haven’t told you, because I didn’t know how”

“I didn’t decide anything at all.”

“It’s been fucking ages since I thought about kids and always in the abstract.”

“I cry all the time too, but you don’t care about that, do you?”

“I didn’t actually do anything on purpose you know.”

“Why? So you could guilt me into not being fucking gay?”

And there was silence. 

Finally they shook themselves and looked at me, like they haven’t for a long time, like they finally saw me again, you know?

My one friend just said my name and gave me the biggest hug, the other (the guy who shot a nail in his arse at the wedding) just shrugged at bit and told me that I was still a git for not talking to them about it. 

I think we might be fine now, I hope so.

Tell me how it all goes with the crush. I have a plan of my own in motion with mine, I’ll update you on the situation soon. 

Orion


	21. Chapter 21

Hi Orion

It seems the tides on the beach that is our correspondence has changed. I am now the one who receives advice and you are acting the wise old lady with sage counselling. 

I kind of made contact, finally. 

You should know, that I have been quite a recluse for a long time. I suppose I have told you that already? The reason for rehashing that embarrassing detail, is that I am not quite used to conversing with more than a few people. All of my contact with strangers, old acquaintances and such, are done by owl and often anonymously.

The difference between sitting with my quill in hand conveying my thought and actually speaking to someone I supposedly hate, is vast. I find myself enjoying the flow of the quill more than the flow of conversation, but I welcome the challenge in this case.

I found myself rather tongue tied as I approached my crush for the first time in close to eight years. I know I looked immaculate – one part of my upbringing actually worth preserving. He looked at me expectantly, as though he anticipated my approach, however strange that sounds. I mean, I was a little shit back at Hogwarts, I am sure I have told you. I'm dragging it out, I apologise, I am getting nervous writing about him to you. 

I will try to relay the very short and embarrassing conversation we had, even though he comes off way more suave than I do. As usual.

“Jackson”

“Willary”

“Long time.”

“Very. How’ve you been?”

“Well. You are getting coffee.”

“Yes, that is the general idea in this place.”

“Right. That is me as well, I will have some coffee.”

“So, what are you up to these days? I haven’t seen you around much.”

“Right, this and that. Nothing nefarious I assure you.”

You see what I am talking about, who in their right mind tells someone that they are not up to anything nefarious - me, that is who. 'Jackson' continued with the conversation as a normal human being:

“Wasn’t thinking that you were. What are you having?”

“Having?”

“Your coffee.”

“Just coffee.”

“Right. I’ll get that for you.”

“Thanks.”

“No worries Willary, next time we should sit down and do this.”

“This?”

“The talking.”

“Right. Yes, we should.”

“See you around.”

“See you Jackson.”

I changed the names, because, we do that. Maybe we should stop doing that?

Pathetic right? But he did kind of indicate that he would enjoy talking to me again as far as I can tell. Was it perhaps just a pleasantry? What do you think?

I am fucking going crazy here, should I owl him and invite him for coffee?

Hopefully your mysterious plan is coming along better than mine.  
Am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one for you today, because I've been away so long.  
> We are nearing the end people!
> 
> Love  
> Elly


	22. Chapter 22

Orion

It just occurred to me that in my eagerness to tell you all about my encounter with ‘Jackson’, I completely neglected to address your coming out to your friends. That is a monumental thing, I should know, so I could not feel more embarrassed about ignoring it so thoroughly.

First off; I applaud you for not letting them walk all over you. Maybe shouting ‘I’m gay’ at them was not the wisest cause of action, but it appears to have done the trick all the same. And if I am being frank, and though I loathe to agree with a person who once shot himself in the arse, I have to agree with his grievance. Talk to you friends, they deserve to know what is going on in your life. 

Did you tell them about the men you have been with? Have you told them about that old rival of yours? Have you spoken to them about writing to me?

One of my friends thinks it is quite odd that I keep writing to you. I think her exact words were: ‘It’s fucking weird, go out at get laid instead you dumbass.’ So I am not sure how solid the ‘talk to you friends’ advice is.

In accordance to our agreement I have not disclosed any of the information you have given me, if you were wondering. 

Hope you are well  
Am


	23. Chapter 23

Hi Am

I am not sure if I am ready to use real names yet, is that ok?

I’ll answer your latest letter first. I have to say I strongly disagree with your friend and I kind of strongly agree with her as well. I think she is totally right about the getting laid thing and going out and all of that. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be writing each other anyway. 

Is it weird? Maybe it started out a little weird, I can admit that, but I have a lot of fun writing you. 

I haven’t actually told my friends about any of the things leading up to me coming out to my ex-wife. I kind of left it as it was, didn’t want to tempt faith by diving in to the whole - I also cheated with a random blonde- conversation. You are right though, I really should talk to them about it all, I think I’ll tell them about you first. It makes sense to tell them about the letters to Amorina, I could show them those and kind of explain the process… I don’t know. Maybe it is a little weird that I have been telling you more than I tell my best friends, but It seems easier somehow.

I talk to them about my old rival all the time. It actually annoys them like you wouldn’t believe. I used to go on and on about him all the time. Then these last couple of months I have been thinking about him a lot, you know. Well of course you know, I have been writing to you about him. 

I sort of started talking a lot about him again. What does he do, where does he go, who does he see. That kind of thing. The nail-in-the arse friend actually did a loud dramatic sigh the first time I mentioned him this time around and said something under his breath that sounded like ‘oh no not this again’.

So yeah.

I think they might soon figure out I have a huge crush on him, they wont handle that well at first, but hey, lets see if anything comes of it before I start panicking. 

The weird thing is, I have kind of realised that I don’t really give a shit what people think.

This points me to the next part of this answer – the response to your first letter. To be honest, I think you sound adorable. 

I had a run in with that old rival of mine too, you remind me a little of him, I must say. I hope he’ll ask me out soon, I dropped some heavy hints and was not very subtle about my intentions in my own opinion.

I really think you should write to that crush of yours as well. I think he would really, really enjoy that coffee from what you’ve told me.

Talk soon  
Orion


	24. Chapter 24

Hi Orion

I really do not give a shit what people think of me either. I used to spend an exuberant amount of time contemplating my impact on other people. These days I am quite satisfied if the people who knows me best, knows what I stand for and who I am.

The change in me has happened slowly and gradually. I did not wake up one day and realise that pureblood supremacy was a load of dragon’s dung. A big part of moving on and moving forward from that was removing myself from the toxic environment I was raised in. 

The reason I am going in to all of this right now, is that I did write that crush of mine. I wanted to get your opinion on something. 

I wonder why he would even want to date me.

I wonder how he could want to spend time with me, knowing what he knows about my past.

I wonder if it is a fool’s errand to even start anything.

I wonder whether it is possible to move on so thoroughly. 

This letter will reach you at approximately the same time as the coffee, well tea actually because I am not a savage, invite reaches my crush. I am eager for both responses.

Still wondering  
Am


	25. Chapter 25

Hi Am

Coffee is grand. I can’t explain to you how happy I was when the first proper coffee place opened up on Diagon. I mean did you taste the one with honeydew in it. Or the one with so much chocolate even a Dementor would feel all warm and fuzzy. 

Tea is good though, I don’t mind tea.

So you wrote him and now you’re second-guessing yourself?

Let me answer all of you wonderings I am sure I can put myself in this guys shoes for a moment:

He would want to date you because you are smart, funny, sarcastic, honest, beautiful and capable of change and growth. 

He would want to spend time with you, not in spite of the past you share but because of it. Because you share so much history that could overwhelm some people, but doesn’t overwhelm you two because it is a part of who you are. 

It’s only a fools errand if you are not serious about it. If you are serious about it, it is worth trying.

I can’t say if it is possible for you to move on. I can’t even say for sure if he has moved on. But it seems to me that you have both moved past the rivalry and even though it might still be hard to not judge based on the past, it seems like you both want to. Both want to not judge - you know what I mean.

This week I am going on a date for the first time since my marriage ended. I am going on a date with a wizard and I am totally terrified. Not of my date, he is perfect, even if he doesn’t realise it himself. It’s all the surrounding stuff. All the gossip and the opinions but you know what – I will just continue this path of not giving a shit. I wont let other people tell me how to be happy.

I wanted to say one more thing.

I think more people has noticed the change in you, than you realise.

Write soon, tell me about the tea. Tell me about the date. Tell me everything.  
Orion


	26. Chapter 26

Orion

I think I will respect the privacy of my date and not go into detail, some would think you were fishing for something.

It did go well, very well.

Now, l have been dying to go into detail about this new swan feather quill I have been writing with. Have you noticed how the curve of my g’s have become much more smooth in our recent correspondence? I also enjoy the length of it. With regular goose feather I have not found quite the right balance, and do not get me started on duck feathers, I shudder to think how my writing would look with such an atrocity. 

Pray tell, what kind of quill do you prefer?

Have you had a satisfying week? Any news to speak off?

Looking forward to your answer.  
Am


	27. Chapter 27

Really, you are giving me quills?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished it all, apart from the Epilogue... yay!  
> So you'll get frequent updates - well even more so than now.
> 
> Also because some of the chapters are very short.
> 
> Love  
> Elly


	28. Chapter 28

I could go into the very rich history of my early fourteenth century ottoman, if you prefer?


	29. Chapter 29

I get it, you don’t want to share.

I am sorry for fishing.

Ok?

Can I expect you to invite your crush out for more than tea soon?


	30. Chapter 30

I am contemplating a dinner invite, but I must say, I think he should be the one to initiate contact this time. I did do all the hard work leading up to a second date.

What would your advice be, would it not be prudent to my possible relationship with this crush/date of mine to have some measure of equality?


	31. Chapter 31

Dear Draco

Meet me at seven Friday night, and I’ll show you equality you smug bastard.

I have to know though, before I see you again – how long did you know it was me?

Harry


	32. Chapter 32

Dear Harry

That sounds promising, do I have to wait for Friday.

Fuck, I can still feel your lips on mine.

When did I know?

I knew from back when I read that you had left your wife, it was all over the papers and the stories did line up quite nicely. I had my doubts when you did not call me out as I got more and more explicit in my hints to you, but I guess you waited for me to call you out?

When did you know it was me?

Draco

Sidenote – I am kind of impressed, I had you pegged as a guy who would storm into my apartment with the letters in hand to get me to confess.


	33. Chapter 33

Dear Draco

You knew that long and didn’t say anything. I was sure you didn’t know it was me when I met you at that coffee house. God, you were so hot that day.

I knew for sure when I was trying to figure out what you did for a living now. I heard you had done some writing so I checked with my contacts at some different publications. Yolanda, the freelance photographer who shot some photos of me for a cover once, told me you were Amorina.

I gotta say, I am beginning to feel a little doubtful about all the things you wrote, if you knew I was me, did you just, I don’t know, lay it on thick?

That kiss though, you are right, it’s seared into my brain. And your hands, shit.

This was a lot easier when I thought you didn’t know who I was.

Just for the record. I meant everything I wrote about you.

I think you were an obnoxious git when we were younger, but I think I might have wanted to shag you silly even then.

And you’re hot, so bloody hot.

But you know what I have come to admire most about you; the selfless way you help other people with this. I would never have come out stronger from this fucking divorce if it wasn’t for you. I would never have build up the courage to take that big of a step. 

I was so scared and you made me brave. 

I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. 

Harry


	34. Chapter 34

Harry

Thank you for last night.

I know we said that it was silly to keep writing to each other with the non-disclosure still in place, but I will circumvent that rule just this once.

I am not sure I would be able to tell you this in person, writing is easier for me, as you know.

You say that I helped you overcome your fears about coming out to Ginny, Granger and Weasley. I do not think you understand how much you have helped me too. 

I wondered for a long time how you would react once you realised that I was the one writing to you. My fear was that you, even though you wanted to move past all of our old crap, would never be able to see me as anything other than a Death Eater.

The truth is; I often think of myself like that. Not in a ‘Kill muggles – take over the world’ sense, but I often feel like the Death Eater past overshadows anything I could ever do.

And here you are.

And you do not even seem to care.

I appreciate it. I appreciate you. 

In addition, just to be abundantly clear, I did not embellish a single thing. I am sure I have never been more honest with anyone in my life than I have been with you, since we started writing privately.

Breakfast is almost ready, come out when you’ve finished reading.  
Draco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last letter - Epilogue left and then it's done...  
> I hope you all got the answers you wanted/needed/banged your heads against keyboards for
> 
> I am so lucky to have such wonderful people reading along.
> 
> Love  
> Elly


	35. Epilogue

It was not what Harry had envisioned for himself at all, but the relationship with Draco Malfoy turned out to be exactly what he needed – like Ron and Hermione, who just worked, who found each other so early, who Harry had always looked at with envy, though he thought he would never have what they have. People didn’t understand at first, some still didn’t. He got hate mail, for Merlin’s sake. Yes, he was perfectly aware of the fact that the hate mail only came from people who did not know him. The public only saw him as “The Boy Who Triumphed” after all, but he couldn’t hope to convince those people that he was actually a normal bloke, who just wanted to snuggle up with his boyfriend and be left alone.

The name “The Boy Who Triumphed” was actually coined by Hermione, there were some awful attempts at coining a new name for him in the first year after the war – “The Saviour of The Wizarding World and Muggles as Well” was especially disastrous. The Daily Prophet tried to convince him to endorse their attempt W.O.N.D.E.R – Boy “Wizard Overcame Nasty Disastrous Evil Rival – Boy”; awful. Harry knew that people did need him to not completely disregard the names, and he convinced Hermione to figure out a name he could live with.

Each week he still received dozens of letters from eager fans, who wanted to thank him. Even now, nine years later. Draco found it all quite hilarious and helped him answer the most ridiculous ones with his special brand of wit. Harry had never really seen his life going this way, but it truly was not at bad life at all. Not too shabby for Harry Potter and a lot better than he ever could have dreamed of – and the sex, well, that was a fringe benefit, if he ever had one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for folowing along!  
> I hope you enjoyed this little callback to the beginning.  
> I might have a tiny idea for another fic already brewing, so I hope to see you there.
> 
> Kisses and love and all that for all of you who has been with this for a whole month and for people who discovered it later or have yet to discover it, but will later.
> 
> Elly


End file.
